rs within a social environment, and technology can be used to facilitate social interaction and communication among learners in class, within a school, between schools and around the world (Eady and Lockyer 2013). Collaboration is also deep-rooted in Vygotsky’s theory of learning. He believed that in group-based learning there is a natural social nature of learning .Vygotsky proposed the notion of the zone of proximal development, which in essence is the difference between a learner’s independent ability and what can be accomplished cognitively with guided support from others who are more knowledgeable. This means that teachers have an important role in facilitating and scaffolding collaborative learning (Eady and Lockyer 2013).

Similarly, Mayer (2008) suggested that digital learning resources support information processing by helping students to develop mental representations through the mix of media elements presented to them. Digital learning resources include content and, sometimes, learning activities. These combine multimedia elements such as text, image, video and audio to present information. Research on multimedia learning have demonstrated more positive outcomes for students who learn from resources that effectively combine words and pictures, rather than those that include words alone (Mayer, 2008).

Challenges

However, there are a number of challenges coming from concerns about how digital technologies are used in learning. Harris et al (2009) argue that current use of technology tends to be focused on skills required by teachers to integrate these in their classrooms, rather than students’ learning needs. Also, Burden and Atkinson (2008) suggests that most digital technologies in use in the classrooms were not created as educational tools, but have been adapted by educators for pedagogical purposes.

Numerous studies have focused on the barriers faced by the institutions when they attempt to integrate digital technologies in learning, and strategies that can be employed to overcome these barriers. Hew and Bush (2007) grouped these barriers in categories such as: structure of institutions, learning environment, assessment of learning or attitudes of learners.

Therefore, an example of barrier is found in Banyard research (2006), where it was found that the relationship between the use of digital technology and academic achievement is not direct. The fi